Students often greet summer with an enthusiasm to forsake everything associated with school, including books. But the library staff wants to change that.
"The Nevada Summer Reading program at the Carson City Library is designed to attract children to the library and encourage them to continue reading for enjoyment," said Sally Edwards, director of the library.
The statewide summer reading program, READiscover Nevada, will begin Saturday with the annual Kiwanis Club Breakfast for Books on the library lawn.
Children will be divided into two clubs - one for ages infant to fifth-grade and the other for sixth- to 12-graders.
"We want them to keep up their reading skills so that next year they won't fall behind in their studies," said the library's Paola Ferate-Soto. "They need reading for everything that they do."
Each child who signs up for the program will be given a bookmark and a reading log to keep track of time spent reading.
Those in the younger group will be rewarded for every three hours they read or are read to.
After three hours, they will receive a flag pin; after six, a T-shirt. At nine hours, they will be able to choose from a cowboy hat, glasses or a bandanna.
After 12 hours they will receive a sheriff's badge and a gift certificate to Round Table Pizza. They will also be entered in a grand-prize drawing where they could win a bicycle or other prizes.
Children in the older group will be required to read one book they've never read before and write a one-page summary of that book.
After the first book, they will be entered in a program to win a bike and each additional book will qualify them for weekly drawings in which they can win various prizes, including a CD player.
Ferate-Soto said the prizes are offered as incentives for students to read more.
"Sometimes children need a little bit more, they need some sort of incentive," she said. "Hopefully, later on, they will learn that reading for pleasure is great."
